- The Biden administration is mulling a major new arms sale to Israel amid calls to stop sending weapons to the ally as civilian casualties in Gaza mount.
The US is sending more bombs to Israel, two senior administration officials have told Sky News’ US partner network, NBC.
The bombs are part of a weapons package that was approved for Israel years ago but is only now being fulfilled, the officials said.
The U.S. government sale includes up to 50 new F-15 fighter jets, 30 AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles, as well as Joint Direct Attack Munition kits, equipment that can alter dumb bombs into precision-guided weapons, Politico first reported.
Specifically, it also includes more than 1,800 Mark 84 bombs and approximately 500 Mark 82 bombs, both of which can be converted into precision-guided weapons, NBC reported.
“These are the bombs that can destroy entire blocks,” one senior administration official said of the MK84 bombs.
Israel receives $3.8bn (around £2.3bn) in annual military assistance from the US.
But there is growing criticism of Washington’s continued supply of weapons six months into the war amid international scrutiny of Israel’s military tactics in Gaza and a mounting civilian death toll.
Gaza’s health ministry said yesterday that at least 32,782 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war.
The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and soldiers, but it has said that women and children make up around two-thirds of those killed.
A U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee aide later confirmed to The Hill that the administration informally notified the relevant congressional panels of the sale.
The aide confirmed that “the chairman approved the transaction to proceed to formal congressional notification.”
The sale comes as there are growing calls for President Biden to withhold arms for Israel if it won’t take actions to limit civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip.
A brutal air and ground campaign launched by the Israeli military against Hamas militants in the enclave since October has already killed more than 31,000 Palestinians, the majority women and children.
Many, including those within Biden’s own party, have also argued that the commander-in-chief should refuse to give Israel weapons should it launch a large-scale invasion into Gaza’s Southern city Rafah.
More than 1 million Palestinian civilians are sheltering there after being driven from northern parts of the territory due to fighting.
American officials have warned against a ground invasion of the city without an accepted plan to move civilians from harm’s way.
